President Lee Jae-myung began a five-night, six-day state visit to India and Vietnam.
President Lee and first lady Kim Hea-kyung arrived at Palam Airport in New Delhi, India, at 4:43 p.m. on the 19th (local time). President Lee will spend three days in India through the 21st. It is the first state visit to India by a Korean president in eight years. Immediately after arrival, President Lee met with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and attended a dinner meeting with Korean residents.
On the 20th, he plans to hold a summit with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, conduct a memorandum of understanding (MOU) exchange, and deliver a joint press announcement. The two sides will meet again five months after the Group of 20 (G20) summit in November last year to discuss pending issues.
The government plans to comprehensively strengthen the special strategic partnership between Korea and India through this summit. After finishing the India schedule, President Lee will pay a state visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, from the 21st. On the 22nd, he plans to hold a summit with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and state president, to discuss energy and supply chain cooperation plans. On the 23rd, he will meet with Prime Minister Le Minh Khai and National Assembly Chair Tran Thanh Man.
Wi Sung-lac, director of the Office of National Security, said, "With this tour visiting two rapidly growing countries in succession, we will be able to broaden the horizons of our diplomacy and seek opportunities to deepen strategic cooperation in several key areas."